Has anyone experienced outbreaks of white worms, about the size of human arm hair in girth and about a half-inch long? They don't seem to be bothering the fish, I haven't seen them on my fish or anything and they aren't showing signs of stress, but they do seem to be connected somehow to outbreaks of a slimy substance that tends to clog my power filter. Any ideas on how to keep them out of my tank?
Non-parasitic pinworms?
- Thread starter mrbaronisback
- Start date
mrbaronisback;803947; said:
do they wriggle and form an "S"-like figure? thet're probably planaria. that's most likely from overfeeding. If not, it could be some other parasite. Let's wait a little for the experts.
planaria , water change cut back on the foodThe planaria themselves are not really dangerous. They're an eye sore though.
What is potentially dangerous is the water. Having planaria means your probably doing less water changes, or feeding too much, or both.
I occasionally get them too! hehe
What is potentially dangerous is the water. Having planaria means your probably doing less water changes, or feeding too much, or both.
I occasionally get them too! hehe
There are colonies of planaria in most established tanks you usually don't see them becasue they live and breed in the substrate.
When you do see them its a sign you need to cut back on the amonut of food
and give the tank a good vacuuming-Anne
When you do see them its a sign you need to cut back on the amonut of food
and give the tank a good vacuuming-Anne
From your description, those are not planaria that you're dealing with. Planarians are flatworms and are not free-swimming...they don't wriggle....don't swim....and don't make 'S' patterns. What you are most likely seeing is much closer to your original description...non-parasitic 'pinworms'. These are actually nematodes...roundworms which typically look like little hairs and which do wriggle...do swim...and do occasionally make an 'S'-like figure. Nematodes are very common in aquatic and terrestrial environments and include both parasitic and non-parasitic (free-living) species.
Free-living nematodes are very common in aquaria but you usually don't see a whole lot of them unless you're dealing with a population explosion...generally caused, as others have already mentioned, by a build-up of food in the substrate. Generally a couple of good substrate vacuumings will cut the population back dramatically...as has already been mentioned.
-Joe
Free-living nematodes are very common in aquaria but you usually don't see a whole lot of them unless you're dealing with a population explosion...generally caused, as others have already mentioned, by a build-up of food in the substrate. Generally a couple of good substrate vacuumings will cut the population back dramatically...as has already been mentioned.
-Joe
Can they (planaria or nematodes) cause excessive slime build-up in the filter? In the past, it's actually gotten so bad that I had to clean the entire power filter from the inside out (didn't actually dissasemble the pump motor mechanism, but you get the idea) because it was severely restricting the water flow.